Family supplement Ministry Y2AM Ministry Plan 2018-19 A Life of Offering: Offering our Story January 2019
EFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY BUILDING FAITH TO MOVE MOUNTAINS A new ministry course designed to help you: 1. develop a vision for ministry 2. understand the challenges to ministry 3. implement the practices of effective Christian ministry EFFECTIVECHRISTIANMINISTRY.ORG
The Y 2 AM Ministry Plan 2018-19 A Life of Offering Module 1: Preparing to Connect September 2018: Offering our Talents October 2018: Offering our Struggles November 2018: Offering our Conflicts Module 2: Connecting with God December 2018: Offering our Prayer January 2019: Offering our Story February 2019: Offering our Sacrifice Module 3: Living with Connection March 2019: Offering our Gifts April 2019: Offering the Gospel May 2019: Offering our Lives
Welcome to the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan! Dear Parent or Family Member, July 5, 2018 Last summer, we launched the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan to help Church workers lead Christ-centered and Kingdom-oriented ministry. And, glory to God, the feedback was incredible. This year, we re proud to unveil a new and improved version of the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan, a tool to help communities and homes lead transformational ministry for the youth and young adults in their care. We ve created nine months of materials carefully designed for well-rounded, effective, and Kingdom-oriented ministry. Organized week-by-week and monthby-month, the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan gives you a comprehensive set of tools that will help you lead ministry designed, not simply for the head, but for the heart. After all, Christians aren t simply informed: they are formed. They are transformed into people who live lives of constant offering to God. And it s all laid out for you, from the first week of September 2018 through the last week of May 2019. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at y2am@goarch.org. Please, let us know what you think: we re committed to creating a new Y 2 AM Ministry Plan every year and constantly refining and improving the materials we offer you. In Christ, Steven Christoforou Director, Y 2 AM
Special Acknowledgment The Y 2 AM Ministry Plan takes the very best ministry insights and sets them forth in a simple, concrete, easy-to-use resource that can offer ministry workers help today. It reflects the great work of our Team, a fantastic group of people who have done (and continue to do) amazing things for the Church. I m blessed to work with them; their fierce dedication and humble love of the Lord encourage me daily. We couldn t have produced the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan without the hard work of Christian Gonzalez, Maria Pappas, and Christina Andresen who helped edit and review the sessions and offered invaluable feedback and suggestions. I m also grateful to Kristina Wenger who generously took the lead in developing the Family Supplement and did outstanding work. Yet I d be remiss if I don t offer special thanks to Cassandra Garibaldi, Y 2 AM s Resources & Training Coordinator, for her unique contribution. Cassandra continues to elevate this project. Not only has she been crafting the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan for almost a year, she faithfully collected and reviewed all the feedback we received from people across the Church. As a result, I think this year s version of the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan will be even better than last year s. Her leadership and effort (not to mention the amazing final product) are an incredible testament to Y 2 AM s ministry vision and the incredible impact that committed, Christ-centered young adults can have on the Church.
How to Use the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan The Y 2 AM Ministry Plan is a tool designed to help you lead great ministry. It s designed to eliminate the stress of finding or creating ministry resources, so you can be free to spend time with the young people in your care. So, as you flip through the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan: Remember: 1. The Y 2 AM Ministry Plan may be more than you need. We offer week-byweek ministry guidance, but your group may not meet every week. In practice, you may need to skip some of the lesson plans we offer. That s ok: feel free to use the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan in the way that s best for you. 2. Calendar notes are suggestions, not requirements. While the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan is designed intentionally week-by-week and month-by-month, this may not fit your schedule perfectly. That s ok. 3. Anytime you have questions about how to use the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan you can always reach out to us. We re here to help. Here s a bit more practical advice: When working with small groups, it can be easy to let talkative people (leaders and students included) take over conversation. Small groups are also filled with people who process things in different ways: some may need more time and silence, some may need physical manipulation (writing, getting up, etc.). Here are some tips that you can use to help your groups thrive in discussion: Before each session: 1. It is important to read through each session before presenting the session to participants. Be confident in what you are presenting. 2. Note time allotments and have in mind what you would like to accomplish with your group during the session.
3. Before each session begins, pass out paper and pens to each participant. This can help participants process their thoughts and reactions. During each session: 1. When asking questions, allow time for participants to reflect and write their answers down on the paper. 2. Read one of the main questions or Bible verses from the lesson and write it on a board. Give a few minutes to respond and then allow time for each participant to respond. 3. Try many different ways to engage conversation, and don t be afraid of silence; just because people aren t saying anything doesn t mean that they aren t thinking or responding. 4. Remember to listen before reacting. 5. If a question comes up and you are not sure of the answer, be honest and let participants know. Ask a priest and follow up with the participants. Be honest and true to yourself. 6. If you have a good discussion going on a topic, allow the conversation to flow. Don t feel like you have to ask every question or go through every activity in its entirety. Remember: 1. These session are a time for participants to share their own hearts, thoughts and feelings. They have much to say and offer, so try your best to be an active listener. 2. The goal is for participants to speak and learn, not to force a lesson on them for the sake of getting through the paper outline. 3. You are on a journey with your participants, and everyone is on a journey of learning together. Thanks for letting the Y 2 AM Ministry Plan help you lead incredible, Christcentered ministry.
Family supplement Y2AM Ministry Plan 2018-19 4. Before each session begins, pass out paper and pens to each participant. This can help participants process their thoughts and reac A Life of Offering: Offering our Story January 2018
Family Supplement OFFERING YOUR STORY TO GOD January 2019 We began this month s conversation by learning that we each have a story. This story is not perfect, but it is ours. Each life story is still in progress, and we are working hand-in-hand with God to write that story. We are learning that we cannot control every part of our story, because unexpected things happen in life, but we are being encouraged to include God in our story. He is with us always, and when we choose to allow Him to play a major role in our story, it is life-giving to us. We are looking at the lives of the people in the Bible, and those of the saints, to be inspired and learn from their stories. For Discussion: What makes our family Christ centered and unique? What kind of story does your family want to offer to the world? to God? How can we work with God to write a pleasing story? Explore your family story and make a family plan of how to offer them to God. Saint Story Read the life of Mother Maria Skobtsova of Paris: https://www.goarch.org/chapel/ saints? contentid=2693&type=saints What is Mother Maria s story? What type of life did she lead? Bible Verse Be the Bee Activity Therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days. Deuteronomy 30:19-20 Watch Be the Bee Episode #105 What s Your Story https://youtu.be/hv09lhchz54 The example of a chess game is used to help us think about our story and where we are headed with our life. How could that game help you think about your story? St. John Chrysostom encourages all Orthodox Christians to read the biography of a saint who was not a martyr. Have each member of the family pick a saint and find his or her story. What is their story? Is it similar or different from ours? What can we learn from their story? How did they live a life pleasing to God? How can we begin to try to do the same? Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:15-16)